Ex-Burgess-Norton exec also remembered for dedication to charity

Edward L. Anderson was dedicated to his work, whether it was professional or personal.

He put off marrying his wife for 10 years while working his way up the corporate ladder at Burgess-Norton Manufacturing Co. in Geneva in the 1940s and 1950s. "Right now I don't have time for a wife. But someday ..." he would tell Louise Clark, whom he met at the firm. But when friends wondered why she stuck by him, Louise would say, "He's worth waiting for."

Anderson, 92, died Wednesday.

The lifelong resident of St. Charles graduated from North Central College in 1938, then got a graduate degree in business administration from Dartmouth College. He began a 41-year career at Burgess-Norton in 1942. He was given an exemption from military service during World War II because his work at Burgess-Norton on defense contracts was considered essential.

That, and he might have been too tall: At 6 feet 6 inches, "We don't even know if they would have had a uniform that fit him," Louise said.

Anderson, who eventually became president, later found time to serve the community. He was asked to serve as treasurer of Delnor Hospital in St. Charles, then a year later was named to its board of directors. He served for 39 years, including overseeing the merger of Delnor with Community Hospital of Geneva and the building of the present hospital on Randall Road in the 1990s. He supported the project all the way. "He knew they had to expand," Louise said.

He was baptized, confirmed and married at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of St. Charles. His funeral service Saturday will be conducted in the sanctuary whose construction he oversaw in the late 1950s as chairman of the Planning Committee. He was an usher at the church for more than 50 years.

There's a boulevard named after him in Claremore, Okla., where he oversaw the construction of a Burgess-Norton plant.

But he wasn't one to brag about his accomplishments.

"He was a very humble man," his wife said. Daughter Linda Culley echoed that, recalling the time someone, admiring Burgess-Norton, attributed its success to Anderson. "It isn't me that makes the company great. It is the employees," Anderson said. "We work together."

Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Yurs Funeral Home, 405 E. Main St., St. Charles. The funeral is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bethlehem Lutheran, 1145 N. Fifth Ave., followed by burial in Union Cemetery in St. Charles.

Memorial gifts may be made to the church or to the Delnor Hospital Healthcare Foundation, 300 S. Randall Road, Geneva, IL 60134.